Product Description: Factory, mine, and mill. Industry, toil, and grime. Its manufacturing roots mean we still see the North of England as a hardworking place. But, more than possibly anywhere else, the North has always known how to get dressed up, take itself out on the town, and have a good time...read more

Product Description: We can all name the classic rock and pop albums of the last fifty years. But what about the great lost albums? The albums that fell behind the back of the musical sofa? The albums that, in a very real sense, have been completely made up by the authors of this book?It took a bestselling crime writer or three to hunt down these fifty lost classics, and an award-winning TV comedy scriptwriter to buy them a pint and make them write it...read more

These are the songs that have been listened to, laughed to, loved to, and labored to, as well as downed tools and danced to. Covering the last seven decades, Stuart Maconie looks at the songs that have been the soundtracks for changing times, and have—just sometimes—changed the way listeners feel. Beginning with Vera Lynn’s "We’ll Meet Again," a song that reassured a nation parted from their loved ones by the turmoil of war, and culminating with the manic energy of "Bonkers," Dizzee Rascal’s anthem for the push and rush of the 21st century inner city, The People’s Songs takes a tour of the UK's pop music, and asks what it means to a Briton.The story of modern Britain is told chronologically over 50 chapters, through the records that listened to and loved during the dramatic and kaleidoscopic period from World War II to the present day. This is not a rock critique about the 50 greatest tracks ever recorded. Rather, it is a celebration of songs that tell us something about how Britons have felt about things in their lives down the eras—work, war, class, leisure, race, family, drugs, sex, patriotism, and more. In times of prosperity or poverty, this is the music that inspired haircuts and dance crazes, but also protest and social change. The companion to Stuart Maconie’s landmark Radio 2 series, The People’s Songs shows the power of "cheap" pop music,­ one of Britain’s greatest exports. These are the songs people have worked to and partied to, and grown up and grown old to—from "A Whiter Shade of Pale" to "Rehab," "She Loves You" to "Star Man," and "Dedicated Follower of Fashion" to "Radio Ga Ga."

Product Description: These were the days that made us, and these are the day trips to find them. Should we do a flask? And are you sure you’ll be warm enough in that coat? In Hope and Glory Stuart Maconie goes in search of the places, people, and events that have shaped modern Britain...read more

Product Description: It's not only football, pints, and pies that are better up north—the humor also takes some beating. Whether it's comics like Peter Kay, Les Dawson, and Victoria Wood, TV shows like Corrie and Open All Hours, or writers like Alan Bennett and Keith Waterhouse, the funniest and best-loved all invariably hail from the land of perpetual drizzle (another thing they do better)...read more

Product Description: Just where and what is “Middle England?” Is Slough really as bad as Ricky Gervais makes out? From Shakespeare to Midsomer Murders, Stuart Maconie goes in search of the truth, with plenty of stop-offs for tea and pastries.

A Northerner in exile, Stuart Maconie goes on a journey in search of the North, attempting to discover where the cliches end and the truth begins. He travels from Wigan Pier to Blackpool Tower and Newcastle's Bigg Market to the Lake District to find his own Northern Soul, encountering along the way an exotic cast of chippy Scousers.

Product Description: Cover is clean and unmarked, shows light wear. Pages are clean and unmarked. Book looks good! Expedited shipping is available. We ship within 24 hours....(stock #300)

Journalist, writer and TV and radio presenter, Stuart Maconie is the host of Stuart Maconie's Critical List on Radio 2 and has written and presented dozens of other shows on BBC Radio. Maconie's memoir recounts a life lived for music with an all-star cast including fun with Lemmy, frolics with Morrissey, four minutes with MC Hammer, four days in a van with Napalm Death and stealing the Mayor of Frankfurt's dinner with Simple Minds. Not to mention answering some of the key questions of pop such as: Why does Gregory Isaacs only come on stage after the last bus has gone? A tale of male obsession in the Nick Hornby tradition.

Product Description: The official story of the most significant British band of the 90s. Now updated with fresh interviews including insights into lead singer Damon's new act, Gorillaz, that is sweeping awards on both sides of the Atlantic. This is the story of bitter rows with record companies, farcical feuds with Oasis, fist fights with each other, struggles with the bottle, foundering romances and a love-hate relationship with America...read more